JAKARTA: Dozens of flights to and from Indonesia’s resort island of Bali were cancelled on Wednesday (Jun 18), according to authorities and the island’s airport, after a volcano in the archipelago’s east erupted, shooting an ash tower 10km into the sky.
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a 1,703m twin-peaked volcano on the eastern tourist island of Flores, erupted on Tuesday, with authorities raising its alert status to the highest level.
“Due to volcano activity of Lewatobi Laki-Laki in East Nusa Tenggara, several flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport are cancelled,” airport operator Angkasa Pura Indonesia told AFP in a statement.
The flights cancelled included Jetstar and Virgin Australia flights to cities across Australia, with Air India, Air New Zealand, Singapore’s Scoot and China’s Juneyao Airlines also cancelling flights “due to volcano”, Bali’s international airport website said.
In response to CNA’s queries, Scoot said on Wednesday that it has cancelled flights to and from Bali and Lombok “due to volcanic ash activity” from Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki.
The low-cost carrier has since contacted affected customers to inform them of their flight changes.
“The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority,” it said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust our flight schedule as necessary.”
